Cold Blood
by The Showers in April
Summary: When Laura's small team was ambushed on their way to the frontline, they had to flee, leaving her in the Conquerors' clutches. Much to Laura's horror, Yospeh, the man in charge of that unit, takes an interest in her skills after the death of Tui-Chen at her hand. On their march to Kalindi, Laura learns what war is all about: cold blooded revenge.


**So hi! Before you read this, I don't know what this is. I have midterms tomorrow and I just wrote a story with a few of my vocabulary words wip hich have been highlighted throughout the story. I might continue this, but I might not; if you like this, though, I'll try to find time to keep it going.**

 **This isn't proofread or anything, so forgive me for whatever mistakes are made.**

 **Enjoy, I guess.**

* * *

Laura's back was pressed firmly against the dull orange sandstone of the Niloan landscape with her blade drawn. Her brown eyes blazed with the rage she felt in her heart, though her hands practically slipped on the slippery hilt as she slashed out at two of the Conqueror soldiers **spasmodically**. The young Greencloak caught one of the soldiers in the side, cutting him deep. The man screeched with pain and stumbled back into the rest of the fighting, away from Laura, but his spirit animal, an osprey, swooped down on her, talons clawing at her scalp. The other Conqueror moved to take her legs out from under her with his club, but the weapon was thick and **cumbersome.** And in the amount of time it took for the Conqueror to raise his club, Laura, despite the wretched osprey tangling its talons into her hair, shoved her dagger deep into the chest of the soldier. His spirit animal, a small black bear, who fought nearby let out an ungodly roar as his companion fell onto his back, chest spurting blood like a fountain. The spirit animal charged at her, and Laura had to think fast, for the bird still mercilessly dove at her head.

She slashed at the air above her head, catching the foot of the osprey with the serrated edge of her blade. It shrieked in pain, fluttering up into the sky. Hearing the roar of the bear again, Laura turned to see that Dillen, her brother, and his spirit animal, a Komodo Dragon named Tiamat, had taken on the savage beast. Pride surged through her as Dillen's sword tore at the bear's flesh, dark red blood oozing from the cuts he made in its side. Laura made her move to help, but before she could make it to her brother and his companion, another Greencloak joined the fight. Sofi with her tightly braided brown hair swung her mace around at full speed, smashing it into the massive bear's skull. Even from all the way by the rock's Laura could hear the bones crack. The beast fell dead, blank eyes open wide to look at his equally dead companion who lay at Laura's feet.

She caught Sofi's eye and nodded to her; Sofi dipped her head in return before disappearing back into the dust kicked up by the battle. Laura lifted the meshed cloth at her hip to reveal the tattoo of a tiger crouched and roaring. In a flash of light, Freya was on the battle field several feet away from her. The tiger looked to Laura with a knowing look before springing into action, plowing through the battle with an **unbridled** force as that of a hurricane. Laura stormed after her, only to be stopped by a female Conqueror. Their blades clashed, and Laura was shocked to see how strongly they'd hit. The force **diffused** through her arm, making it tingle. This woman would not be as easy to beat as the two male soldiers she'd defeated by the rocks. Their blades clanged again and again until, after quite a lot of useless jabs on Laura's part, the woman **feinted** to the left, and caught Laura in the ribs, digging deep. The pain was immeasurable and she screamed, dropping her blade into the dust and clutching at her side. Blood bloomed on her clothes and dribbled through her fingertips.

The woman didn't leave though, instead turning to face Freya who had leapt forward to help Laura. Laura watched through a shroud of pain as the woman Conqueror slashed her sword at Freya's paw, slicing it open so deep, bone could be seen. She attempted a scream, but dust clogged her mouth. No one could help; how could they. Her puny team of three had been outnumbered from the start of this ambush: four to six, odds against them.

"That's my sister! We can't just leave her! Viktor! Sofi! That's my sister! _LAURA_!" She could hear her brother's distressing shouts ringing in her ears that seemed to be growing more distant with every staggered, painful breath she took.

Moving the hand that wasn't counting her wounded side, she lifted up the hem of her garments again, summoning poor Freya back. She wasn't stupid; this battle had been a loss for the Greencloaks, not that it had been much of a battle in the first place. Her team had had to retreat, even with one Conqueror of this party dead, they were still outnumbered. And these spirit animals were Infected with that wretched bile; they were massive and more strong than anything she'd ever seen. They couldn't have won. But now here she was at these monsters' mercy.

The braying of horses was now the only thing to be heard on the blood stained, sandy land. The air was thick with dust, making Laura almost choke. Her side hurt terribly, and the spots around her vision heralded unconsciousness. A Conqueror dismounted, trudging towards her. She felt fingers wrap around her hair and yank upwards; the Amayan Greencloak let out a sharp hiss of pain. Laura was jerked around to face the person who's hand held her head like a doorknob. It was a boy that couldn't be a year older than she was. His skin was a dark tan and his hair was black, but looked almost beige with dust.

"You're still living. What a pity," he **jeered.** "But of course, by the time we reach Kalindi, you may be a valuable asset."

Laura, though her body was twisted around in such a way that her wound screamed with pain, stared **unflinchingly** at the Conqueror boy. "Why not kill me now, and save yourself the trouble down the line?" she retorted.

Before the boy could respond, the woman that had wounded her spoke up, her accent most definitely Zhongese. "Yes, Yoseph," she spat. "Why don't we kill the little Greencloak? After all, she killed Tui-Chen." A small murmur of agreement came from another female who had the other Conqueror Laura had stabbed slung around her shoulders.

The boy, Yoseph, looked up at them with stern eyes. "She looks no older than fifteen; if she killed your older brother, Yuzi, then she may be of use to the Devourer. Every hand counts.

Yuzi glared at Laura, black eyes wrathful, but she hissed out a simple, "Of course," before sheathing her sword. Laura noticed that upon Yuzi's forearm, a red panda was adorned. The poor thing, a slave to this wretched woman.

Yoseph bent to lift Laura up, but with the hand not pressed to her side, she drew her dagger once again, slitting his hand. He dropped her to the ground and kicked her hard in the hip. Laura winced, eyes cloudy with pain, mind whirring with panic. What could they mean? Surely than wouldn't force feed her the wretched Bile? She **admonished** herself for thinking otherwise; of course they weren't below that.

"I'd rather die than betray my brethren," she growled sharply as Yoseph bent and snatched away her weapon. He then tossed it to the other female who, in an effort to catch it, dropped the wounded soldier to the ground where he cried out in pain. Yoseph smirked.

"Well that's just too bad, isn't it? Of course, we don't have any on us; you'll have to come with us to Kalindi, but, little Greencloak," he lifted her up again, and Laura grimaced as his fingers pressed hard into her wound, "I think you'll find that we mean business."


End file.
